Council property investments lose '£3.5m in value'

The Wilko store in Gordon Road, Lowestoft, before it was closed in September 2023

Investment properties bought by East Suffolk Council nearly halved in value with a loss of £3.5m, according to a report made to the Audit and Governance Committee.

The council has five investment properties in Lowestoft and Beccles, which were purchased for £7.28m, but only two had increased in value at the end of by June 2025.

Its portfolio included the derelict Wilko store, now valued at £0.

Opposition councillor, Conservative Geoff Lynch, who sits on the committee, told the BBC the losses were a "concern" and "not expected".

The council said it could not "go into full details" for "commercial reasons", but the £0 value was because Wilko had been "demolished to make way for the new Cultural Quarter".

Conservative councillor Geoff Lynch said he had "concerns" over the loss of money.

The council owns three retail and two business units in the north of the county, which it bought for investment purposes, the report said.

The retail units accrued the most significant losses, with their values down by £3.7m. The business units increased in value, reducing the overall losses to £3.5m.

The council told the BBC the losses occurred between 2013 and 30 June 2025.

Lynch said: "I do not understand why the value has gone to £0. If you have the land, it cannot be worth nothing.

"We have concerns as it is a substantial loss and not something we were expecting"

He added: "The Conservatives would have been taking these investment decisions to full council or the audit committee, but these have been made directly by the leadership of East Suffolk council."

East Suffolk council is led by a coalition of Green, Liberal Democrats and Independent councillors.

The council said that one of the units' loss in value was "linked to the reduced rental agreement to allow the retail unit to continue to trade".

It added: "The unit valued at £0 refers to the Wilko's store formerly on Gordon Road, which was bought by Waveney District Council in summer 2013.

"This building has been demolished to make way for the new Cultural Quarter - Battery Green, in Lowestoft.

"The area is set to be regenerated into a thriving and sustainable creative destination with investment from the Towns Fund and East Suffolk Council capital funding."